JWT’s AnxietyIndex is designed as a place to discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the global recession. With daily content updates, AnxietyIndex.com includes contributions from around JWT’s network, offering a truly global perspective.

In the first wave of JWT London’s new quarterly Austerity Index, we found that 92 percent of Britons are deploying one or more of a range of coping mechanisms to save money: using money-off coupons (58 percent), using loyalty points (53 percent), checking price comparison tools (54 percent), or switching utilities suppliers (19 percent) and mobile tariffs (17 percent). Austerity Britain appears to be producing a nation of savvy budget tacticians who are relying upon a slew of strategies to make their money go further. They’re also finding more ways to restock the coffers. Selling unwanted items is a popular strategy: 51 percent are selling or planning to sell items at car boot sales or auction sites like eBay.

JWT London’s findings suggest that being a thrifty consumer is now a way of life for many. This is not surprising given that low-income households fork out an average of £91 each week to pay for necessities like groceries, toiletries, petrol and travel. That’s excluding money for the mortgage or rent, or any bills. And once they’ve covered off those essentials, more than a third of those surveyed told us they have nothing left to spend on themselves or others as a treat at the end of the month. A further third have just over £12 a week, barely enough to cover a small round of drinks at the pub.

Amid the gloom, there’s a glint of steely resourcefulness. While 30 percent of people report feeling depressed, 27 percent say they feel in control. It seems that when push comes to shove, Britain will cope, using every trick and tactic at its disposal. No surprise then that 62 percent agree that austerity has taught us something: how to live with less.